Sophomore forward Jeffery Taylor scored 20 points to lead four Commodore players in double figures as in a 95-73 victory over crosstown Lipscomb Monday night.
Senior point guard Jermaine Beal had 17 points, and junior center A.J. Ogilvy came off the bench to score 13 points and pull down a team-high 9 rebounds.
The Commodores looked lackluster at times during the win, but in the end they were too talented for the underdog Bisons in earning a season-opening victory for the third straight season.
"It could have been a lot worse," said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings. "It was a good night for the first game."
Vanderbilt (1-0) led by as many as 17 in the first half as they pushed the tempo and played strong pressure defense, but Lipscomb (0-2) clawed back into it, getting a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer from Brandon Brown to cut the lead to 43-36.
"I thought we did a poor job with our press after the first few minutes, but that gave us a little separation at the beginning of the game," Stallings said.
Lipscomb hung in during the second half, trailing by just 12 points with 10 minutes to go, but back-to-back layups by Ogilvy and Taylor and a 3-point play by redshirt sophomore forward Andre Walker pushed the lead to 76-57, and the Bisons never got within 17 after that.
The Commodores shot 59 percent from the floor for the night, but committed 18 turnovers and were outrebounded 36-32.
"We got unlucky on a few bounces," Stallings said. "When you shoot 59 percent, you're not going to get many offensive rebounds. We need to do a better job, though."
The defense held Lipscomb to 43 percent shooting from the field and forced 23 turnovers of their own.
Redshirt sophomore Festus Ezeli started in place of Ogilvy, who is still dealing with the after-effects of a concussion sustained during practice in October. Ezeli finished with two points and three rebounds.
"For the last few days in practice, you can see (A.J.'s) coming along," Stallings said. "It's just a matter of time until we get him back where he needs to be."
"Definitely getting back to where I was, which is good," Ogilvy said.
Click here to view a photo gallery of the game.
